I am not a fan of force feeding with a syringe - as a pathologist, I have
seen my share of aspiration pneumonia, and in the vast majority of cases,
the history includes syringe feeding.  This is not to say that it is a bad
idea for everyone - some owners (and ferrets) strike a good chord with it
and do quite well (but I wonder if with a little training, these animals
would not do the same from a bowl.
 
One of the nicest things about Gerber's is that it is finger fed.
 
While you can maintain a ferret for months on Gerber's alone, and for
literally years as the primary ingredient of the diet, it is not a
long-term solution by itself.  Usually, if an animal will be on it for
longer than a month, I recommend grinding up a high-quality ferret kibble
in a coffee grinder and adding it to the baby food in increments, to
ensure an adequate level of appropriate vitamins and minerals.
 
While I try in every case to eventually return the animal to normal kibble
within a month or two, occasionally, there are some animals that just won't
do it.  I have kept several thriving for years on the baby food/kibble mix,
and they have done quite well.
 
No, I don't believe that there is anything to be gained by switching to a
syringe-fed duck soup mixture, and possibly in this case, we may even lose
ground in an animal that is doing well at the moment.
 
With kindest regards,
Bruce H. Williams, DVM, DACVP
 
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[Posted in FML issue 3404]